Sega says Wii U will come out first half of 2012

Sega may have accidentally revealed a more specific release window for the Wii U.

The successor to Nintendo’s motion-controlled console will be coming out in 2012. That’s what Nintendo said during the system’s unveiling last week.

But as far as nailing down a more specific time frame, no one was willing to say anything. That is, except, unless you asked Sega marketing VP Alan Pritchard.

In an interview with Gamespot, Pritchard said “the Wii U is coming out next spring/summer.”

One would assume that a high-ranking executive like a Sega VP wouldn’t say something that specific if he hadn’t received the information directly from Nintendo.

However, it would also assumedly only refer to the first release in the world, which is likely to be Japan.

Given Nintendo’s history, if it were to come out in the first half of 2012 in Japan, it would most surely be targeted at a holiday 2012 release for the US.

The Wii U’s unveiling had a curious effect on Nintendo’s bottom line, with investors either confused or unimpressed with the device.

Company president Satoru Iwata said he was baffled by the reaction but then admitted the presentation was botched and could have been handled better.

We got a hands-on look with the Wii U controller and thought it had a lot of potential, but Nintendo’s main goal this time is to prove that it’s not just a gimmick.